Sports

19Feb2017

On February 17, 2017, the following Nike Women advert made its debut to the world. I watched this video several times and for many reasons especially since my research looks at Muslim women’s representation in sports and this video is timely.

1) The women represented in the video: As an American Muslim female also a sportswoman this video has so much meaning and power to me. You see a range of athletes, some who cover and others who do not. When Muslim women are discussed the conversation often falls within stereotypical categories — women who need saving from their oppressive cultures/countries/societies or the image of the hijab. These images and stories often come from a western media perspective and tend to paint Muslim woman in one broadstroke, forgetting that identities are complex and multi-layered. Muslims are not just from the Middle East, you have American Muslims, Russian Muslims, Canadian Muslims, hey there is a vibrant Muslim community in Cuba. There are also Black Muslims, LGBTQI Muslims, Muslims carry many intersecting identities at once, sometimes ones with conflicting politics, cultures and religion ideologies, as well as other personal characteristics and structural situations. Nike’s advert scratches the surface to show the diversity of Muslim women athletes (representing both hijabi and non-hijabi women) from the Middle East and North Africa region and the diversity of sports.

These sports, also known as action sports. There is plenty of research and interesting movement in this field: Action Sports for Development Peace <— yes a shameless plug. So what is so important about these two sports? First of all, are they considered a sport? I do but others may not. What are action sports? They are known as surfing, parkour, skateboarding, BMX, mountaineering, and snowboarding which gained popularity in the 1960s – 1970s and were vibrant among youth (Thorpe, 2014). Since then action sports have evolved and the trend has gone beyond Western societies and has gained popularity in Eastern societies see Thorpe & Ahmad, 2013. Aside from the fact that it is gaining momentum among diverse communities, the world will get a glimpse of what skateboarding is all about at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games. Parkour, also another action sport which has not made its way to the Olympics (yet), however, the world witnessed parkour in action during the 2016 Rio Olympics opening ceremony (time 31:50 – 35:00). There is entire academic and sport movement dedicated to what these sports mean to communities, how they reimagine spaces, and their relationship with race, gender, and class (see more work by Neftalie Williams about skateboarding and Holly Thorpe about action sports). Also, this was not the first time a Muslim female skateboarder was in a video, remember the beautifully crafted images of Afghan girls in Kabul where Skateistan teaches skateboarding to youth, even this video Saudi female movement to end male guardianship. And want a little more girls skateboarding (brown girls skateboarding!) here is another beautiful visual example of skateboarding in Banglore.

3) Muhammad Ali: My role model whom I was fortunate to have met, so did anyone catch the little nod to him? If not here it is:

Why I found this image and nod important. (1) There is an entire story behind this famous shot you can read about here. As for the nod, he was an activist, Muslim, and an athlete who inspired so many of us (athletes or not). Currently, in the U.S. the Muslim Ban, a racist executive order signed by Trump has been wreaking havoc, tearing apart families, and contributing to the rise of Islamophobia in the US and abroad. When the ban first came out, people spoke out in numbers including athletes (a list I have been compiling and will add to my site soon). At the same time there were those who came out in support of the ban and Trump (i.e. Under Armour). While UA was getting lashed out by handful of athletes (Stephen Curry and Misty Copeland) and the world, Nike put out the following advert Nike Equality promoting diversity and against the ban. I think the little homage to Muhammad Ali was Nike’s way of reminding us one of the greatest athletes was Muslim.

4) The script: الناس هيقولوا عليكي ايه translation “What will they say about you?” So coming from a culturally rich and Muslim background this specific phrase as a girl/woman one always heard and I still hear it. As a girl “you shouldn’t be out here…” it is “…unladylike…” So this specific phrase “what will they say about you?” is not a phrase made up for this particular Nike video, it is culturally rooted and is one of many barriers along with religion, race, class, socio-economic background, basically multiple issues that Muslim women encounter to overcome and achieve whatever they seek. By taking this phrase they held up a mirror to society and their perceptions of these athletes (stereotypical and at times true), which in this video went either way: negative or positive. Through statements like “maybe they will say you are strong” or “you will always find a way”… they flipped the conversation of society potentially being supportive and raising these women up “maybe they will say you’re the next big thing…” as a little girl enters a skating rink and the video ends.

Nike has had its issues regarding their sweatshops and its continuous struggle with the Native American community concerning the imagery used by sports teams (often racist).” This video is packed with power and inspiration, showcasing current female athletes from the region: Ines Boubakri (Fencer, Tunisia), Arifa Bseiso (Martial Artists, Jordan), Zahra Lari (Figure Skater, UAE), and Amal Murad (Parkour trainer, UAE). At the same time subtle messages about representation, culture, sport and society packaged in a 2-minute video.

Btw this is not the first time Nike dipped their toes in culturally rooted and aesthetically pleasing videos here are two more recent videos FKA Twigs and Nike Da Da Ding.

p.s. I am still trying to identify the skater, soccer player and the other boxer.

4Aug2016

On August 3rd, 2016 the 129th IOC approved the following sports: surfing, skateboarding, climbing, karate and baseball. This is important because it will diversify the global sporting culture and give more opportunities to minorities and women.

Historically, surfing originated from the Polynesian Islands and made its way to Hawaii then across the Pacific to the coast of California and on wards to the global community. Surfing later gave birth to skateboarding which made its own mark in the action sports culture. Now fast forward to 2016 an important decision was made to include them in the 2020 Tokyo games (thanks to the efforts of Dr. Holly Thorpe and Dr. Belinda Wheaton); “the inclusion of the package of new sports will afford young athletes the chance of a lifetime to realize their dreams of competing in the Olympic Games – the world’s greatest sporting stage – and inspire them to achieve their best, both in sport and in life.” This will revamp the viewership of the games and these sports will be a breath of fresh air to the games with their coolness and radness. Importantly, in my opinion, it will provide space for the underrepresented or even misrepresented populations. Who are they? Cubans, Iranians, Palestinians, Ethiopians, Afghans, Bangladeshi, and importantly women and girls who are deeply involved in some of these sports.

Cuba, which is mainly known for producing baseball athletes has more to offer with its rich and vibrant Cuban skate community. The same goes for Iran where its skate community has been navigating their space to build the sport and they are also building a community of female surfers thanks to Easkey Britton, a scholar, environmentalist and pro surfer from Ireland. Iran also has their hands in the sport of climbing. There are plenty of other communities such as Palestine (skate and surf), Afghanistan, Mongolia, Bangladesh and Morocco who are rising up more like connoisseur in the skate and surf realm within their communities. These sports have definitely attracted the youth but also allowed communities who are often marginalized to make their own mark. To echo Danyel Reiche’s viewpoint some of these countries (more like their youth) have already specialized the sport and in some cases women are dominating these sports (such Kelly Murray, seen in the video below, who is a talented female skater out of South Africa). We may see a lot more diversity on the medal board in a few years. [jwplayer mediaid=”244″]

For now I will watch the Rio 2016 games but I look forward to seeing the amazing athletes from the communities listed above waving their countries flag and showing their diversity to the world at the Tokyo 2020 games.

26Sep2013

I am going to start by apologizing that I haven’t had a chance to add content in the blog section often. I am currently working on updating and revamping this section and assessing what I want out of this blog. In the mean time I wanted to share a great article about women and sports and why its important. Aside from the benefits which I have already stated this one touches on the economic aspect. I will discuss this further in the future since that is topic is very dear to me.

The upcoming posts will focus on women around the world and how they are being active.